In exploring pinterest I found this idea but I was having a hard time finding a how-to on this. I spent most of my time investigating prices to find the best deal to keep these as inexpensive as possible.

]]>https://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/jar-sewing-kits/feed/0jthegr81ImageDo You Food Prep?https://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/37/
https://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/37/#respondMon, 26 Oct 2015 08:58:00 +0000http://gloverlove.wordpress.com/?p=37Continue reading Do You Food Prep?→]]>Great cheap food blog. I am blessed to be able to meal prep. I normally spend most of Monday large batches of vegetables typically gifted to me from our farmers near by, or purchased from the market. Once a month I do chicken or any meats I find on sale.

I had some time tonight so I cooked 10 lbs of sweet potatoes, a bag of carrots, and made homemade applesauce. The prep was only 20 minutes.

I heated my oven to 450 degrees.

I washed the potatoes, they were a gift from my neighbor. I poked them with a fork and plopped them on a tray.

I cored a bag of apples, it took about 5 minutes. I wash my fruit in a vinegar soak when it enters the house so it just needed a rinse before coring. Then I threw it in a pot in the oven.

I then cut up a bag of organic carrots that were in their prime. I added 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and put them in the oven.

I cooked everything for 30 minutes. The gas oven is hotter or cooks more quickly than any previous oven we’ve owned.

I moved my potatoes to the Dutch oven and cooked and additional 30 minutes, I would have started them there but it was otherwise occupied with my dinner at the time I started.

Once everything was cooked (30 minutes), I left them on the stove for a while to sweat. A while was long enough to bathe the baby and get her ready for bed, Skype her daddy, and put her down.

I returned to the kitchen to put the carrots and Potatoes in containers and mash the apples.

While the oven was busy and the baby was napping, I used the time to cut up mushrooms and open a bag of kale. I used food dehydrator to preserve the kale and mushrooms before they went bad.

It took me 20 minutes to prep the food 30-60 minutes for it to cook. This will save me a ton of dirty dishes this week.

Why Food Prep?
Food prep makes weekday dinner easier when I just have to heat a side, or mix up several ingredients. The best benifit is knowing what is in our food.

We try to stay away from wheat. I have a problem digesting a chemical used in the harvest of wheat.

Tomorrow I will cook 10 lbs of chicken and 1 lb each of rice and lentils. It’s easier to use these items in meals when they are pre cooked.

I use dinner leftovers for lunch the following day, if I cook too much I tend to freeze the extra, and use it another month.

Do you food prep? What are some of your tips for saving money and eating well? I would love to know.

]]>https://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/37/feed/0jthegr81IMG_20151025_182440.jpgWhen Life Gives you Lemonshttps://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/when-life-gives-you-lemons/
https://gloverlove.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/when-life-gives-you-lemons/#respondFri, 13 Dec 2013 00:32:23 +0000http://gloverlove.wordpress.com/?p=3Continue reading When Life Gives you Lemons→]]>My neighbor has a fruit tree in the back yard and thru the course of the last few months we determined they were lemons. I know that sounds silly, the spherical objects were green and many are the size of a grapefruit. Over time they turned yellow which gave them away as lemons. I gathered about 25 of them and started on a quest to gather recipes to use them. I also received several at Thanksgiving from an old neighbor so I used about 30.

Since February of 2013 I have been trying to be a bit more organic and natural. I have been cleaning with vinegar and lemon juice (add these to baking soda and you can clean just about anything). Since my husband hates the smell of vinegar I use lemon juice when possible but it’s expensive in comparison. These lemons were an absolute blessing.

I found many ideas for them on the web and wanted to share them in this entry. If this is your first experience with lemons this is a great blog entry on what you may need to make some or all of the recipes below.

I started by cutting the lemons in half and juicing them with a hand citrus juicer. I have a Kitchen Aid Citrus Juicer.I purchased it from Target for 15.99 but used my red card for an additional 5% off. I should have started by zesting or peeling them but hind sight is 20/20. In juicing them I filled a quart mason jar. I saved the pulp from them as well and have about 1 and 1/3 quart of pulp that I will further strain for more juice.

I took each of the peels that were left and placed them in a gallon glass pickle jar and put them in the fridge until I was able to work with them.

After zesting and peeling the lemons you have a white pith left, many recipes say to discard it however I am trying to not waste these days. I used the remaining pith to make the all-purpose cleaner.

Tip: Wear gloves latex, nitrile or otherwise my hands are raw from two afternoons of playing with this acidic monsters.